It is a common experience to use a wireline or wireless telephone to call an operator for information assistance. In a typical information assistance call, a caller identifies to the operator the name and address (sometimes city or area code) of a party whose telephone number is desired. In response, the operator locates the desired destination number using a computer database, for example. The destination number is then provided to the caller. The number may be provided by a voice server which provides automated voicing of the number. The caller may be afforded an option to be connected to the destination number without the need of first terminating the information assistance call.
In addition to connecting a caller to a destination number, an information assistance provider (e.g., an operator and/or a voice server) may furnish “concierge” services such as a restaurant guide and reservation service, event information, ticketing and reservation service, hotel reservation and availability service, travel or flight reservation and ticketing services, ordering specific items such as flowers or food delivery, arranging transportation, and accessing entertainment guides. The use of information assistance to provide such concierge services is disclosed, e.g., in copending, commonly-assigned application Ser. No. 10/201,211, filed Jul. 22, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Thus, a telephone service, coupled with a proficient information assistance service, allows a user to conduct day-to-day business effectively. However, a user of the same telephone service may also be inconvenienced from time to time by incoming calls which are unsolicited and/or from unwanted parties, e.g., telemarketers. For example, unsolicited calls from telemarketers may contain false advertisements and high pressure sales pitches. In general, telemarketing connotes fraud and illegitimacy. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission in the United States recently instituted a National Do-Not-Call Registry where people can register their telephone numbers to stop telemarketers from calling such numbers.